TFG Events & Workshops

Community Building Project: Coppermine Trail Shelter

The Guild seeks two instructors to lead a trail shelter repair workshop with the US Forest Service near Franconia, New Hampshire.

Background
The Coppermine Shelter was built in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), who utilized the Forest Camp Adirondack Shelter 1935 standard plan. The White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) Hiking Shelter System was determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places for its significance to the development of outdoor recreation in New Hampshire and the United States, as a rare and early example of a hiking shelter network, and as examples of the evolution of the Adirondack Rustic Style (see figure). 

The Coppermine hiking trail, which accesses the shelter and Bridal Veil Falls from the west side of Cannon Mountain, was constructed by the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) in 1881. By the 1930s, skiing had become popular in the White Mountains. In 1932, the CCC constructed the Taft Ski Trail from the summit of Cannon Mountain down to Franconia Notch on the east side of the mountain, and soon after built the Coppermine and Tucker Brook/Meadow Brook Trails on the west side of the mountain. 

The 1935 WMNF Recreation Plan states that the Coppermine shelter was intended to serve both skiers and hikers. The Coppermine ski trail eventually fell out of use, as later ski resort development focused on the eastern slopes of Cannon Mountain. The Coppermine ski trail can be traced with difficulty today, and the shelter is primarily accessed by hikers via the Coppermine hiking trail, which ends just past the shelter at Bridal Veil Falls. 

About the Project
This is a heritage conservation training workshop and will bring together two TFG instructors and three or four Forest Service employees to focus on repairs to a log-built trail shelter for the Forest Service. The objective is to train Forest Service trail crews to care for and repair simple wood structures in their district. The whole building will be lifted to allow for the repair and replacement of the lower course of logs that are the subject of this workshop.

The workshop is being held at the shelter site on the Coppermine Trail and is scheduled for 5 days, starting Monday, July 31, and concluding Friday, August 4.

Mobilization will be on the afternoon of Sunday, July 30, to move tools and camp gear to the worksite, in preparation for the workshop to begin at 8 a.m. on Monday, July 31. The shelter is approximately 2 miles along the trail and ATV support and Forest Service staff will be available to help.

Each participant will be responsible for their own food needs and communal cooking is likely and will be planned ahead of the workshop in a series of online planning meetings. Camping accommodation will be located close to the shelter and the Coppermine Creek flows right past the shelter. Each participant is responsible for their own camping gear. 

Call for Instructors
The Guild seeks two instructors to lead this workshop near Franconia, New Hampshire. Applications for instructor positions will be accepted via email; please submit all inquiries and applications to TFG's Community Building Projects Program Director Steve Lawrence and Communications Director Allison Aurand. You can find all requirements and a job description for the instructor positions HERE.